Francis's failure to condemn Moscow as aggressor decried as shameful' and incomprehensible'The Ukrainian government has responded angrily and vowed never to surrender after Pope Francis said the country should have the courage to raise the white flag" and negotiate an end to the war with Russia.Our flag is a yellow and blue one. This is the flag by which we live, die, and prevail. We shall never raise any other flags," Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said on social media on Sunday. Continue reading...
Four picture agencies issue kill notice' after editing error of the image of Catherine with her children comes to lightThe first official photograph of the Princess of Wales to be released after her abdominal surgery two months ago has been recalled by four of the world's biggest picture agencies over claims it had been manipulated.The image, released to mark Mother's Day in the UK, shows Catherine sitting on a chair surrounded by her three children. It is the first authorised picture of her since Christmas. Continue reading...
by Bethan McKernan in Jerusalem and Helena Smith on (#6K7XY)
Vessel carrying 200 tonnes of provisions to alleviate looming famine now not sailing from Larnaca on Sunday as plannedAn aid ship carrying 200 tonnes of food to alleviate looming famine in the Gaza Strip remained docked in Cyprus on Sunday night, despite the push for maritime aid in the face of stalling ceasefire talks and the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.The Cyprus government spokesperson, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, told the island's official news agency that the exact timing of the vessel's departure would not be made public for security reasons". It was later reported that due to technical difficulties", it might not depart until Monday morning. Continue reading...
Funding, which stood at 6.1m at the time of the general election, will fall to about 2m from April 2025Budgets for the Home Office's Prevent counter-extremism programme in London are set to be cut by half in two years, contradicting Rishi Sunak's personal call for a crackdown on radicalisation outside Downing Street less than two weeks ago.The proposed changes will cut the number of boroughs that receive funding from 22 to seven by April 2025, even though the prime minister promised to redouble our support for the Prevent programme to stop young minds being poisoned by extremism". Continue reading...
Aaron Bushnell, who died last month, sacrificed everything' for Palestinians, says mayor of JerichoThe Palestinian town of Jericho has named a street after Aaron Bushnell, the US air force member who set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington to protest against the war in Gaza.The 25-year-old, who died on 25 February, sacrificed everything" for Palestinians, said the mayor of Jericho, Abdul Karim Sidr, as the street sign was unveiled on Sunday. Continue reading...
Arrests come after concerns raised about storage and management processes relating to care of the deceased'A man and woman have been arrested on suspicion of prevention of lawful and decent burial after police removed 34 bodies from a funeral parlour in Hull.The 46-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman were also arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation and fraud by abuse of position, Humberside police said. Continue reading...
Police in Valais canton say emergency response is being hampered by very bad' weather conditionsPolice are searching for six people who have gone missing during a ski tour that departed from the Alpine town of Zermatt in Switzerland's Valais canton.The cross-country skiers, five of them members of the same family, went missing around Tete Blanche mountain on Saturday on the Zermatt-Arolla path, near the Matterhorn mountain that straddles the border between Switzerland and Italy, police said. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Members of working group raise concerns over Michael Gove not restarting body that last met in 2020The government's anti-Muslimhatred working group (AMHWG) has been on pause" for more than four years, despite repeated promises from officials and a sharp rise in hate crime.The Guardian understands members of the AMHWG last officially met in January 2020, before all working groups were adjourned because of the Covid pandemic. Continue reading...
Metropolitan police say man has been released on bail and they are not treating incident as terror-relatedA man has been arrested after crashing a car into the gates of Buckingham Palace in the early hours of Saturday morning.Armed police detained the man on suspicion of criminal damage and he was taken to hospital, the Metropolitan police said. After being assessed, the man was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. He has since been released on bail. Continue reading...
Two mass abductions were the latest in a series of group kidnappings by gunmenNigerian security forces continued to search forests and set up roadblocks in the north-west of the country on Sunday, in an attempt to find hundreds of kidnapped schoolchildren, but observers said combing the woodland expanses could take weeks.More than 280 children aged between seven and 18 were taken from a school in Kuriga on Thursday in one of the biggest mass-abductions in recent months in Nigeria's turbulent north west. A further 15 children were taken in another raid on a school in Sokoto on Saturday. Continue reading...
Cairo in touch with both sides and other mediators in effort to restart negotiations for truce in Gaza during Ramadan, say security sourcesThe UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has said that hunger is everywhere" in Gaza and described the situation in the north of the enclave as tragic".The agency is calling for humanitarian access across the Gaza Strip and an immediate ceasefire. Continue reading...
Shelling in eastern Ukraine kills three, 12 wounded in strike on Myrnograd, says Ukraine while Russia says one killed in Ukrainian shellingMore reaction to the courage of the white flag" comments by Pope Francis.The Associated Press reports: Continue reading...
Helen Mountfield, principal of Mansfield College, Oxford, hopes to raise 100m to help improve outcomesOxbridge colleges need to actively help their state school-educated pupils succeed, rather than hope a magical sorting hat" will uncover their talent, according to the head of an Oxford college who is looking to raise 100m to do just that.Helen Mountfield, the principal of Mansfield College, Oxford, said her college was able to recruit 93% of its undergraduates from UK state schools and see them flourish because of the extra effort it put in. Continue reading...
Up to 27 Gaelic development officers based on Hebridean islands and in rural counties and cities to be laid offGaelic-language campaigners and MSPs have protested furiously about plans to axe a network of Gaelic community workers, raising fresh fears about the survival of the language.Up to 27 Gaelic development workers based in Hebridean islands, rural counties and Scotland's major cities are being laid off after the Scottish government cut funding to Bord na Gaidhlig (BnG), the body charged with protecting and reviving Gaelic. Continue reading...
Election triggered by resignation of PM Antonio Costa could see scandal-hit Socialist party ousted by rightwing coalitionThe Portuguese left and right are braced for a tight race as the country votes in its second snap general election in three years, a closely fought contest that is also expected to result in huge gains and a possible kingmaker role for the far-right Chega party.Sunday's election was triggered by the collapse of the socialist government of Antonio Costa, who resigned as prime minister in November amid an investigation of alleged illegalities in his administration's handling of large green investment projects. Continue reading...
Police called to Catford Broadway in Lewisham in early hours of Sunday find man with gunshot woundA murder investigation has been launched after a man was shot dead in south-east London, police said.The Metropolitan police said officers were called to Catford Broadway, in the borough of Lewisham, at about 4.30am on Sunday, where a man - believed to be in his 30s - was found with a gunshot wound. Continue reading...
Payout by Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company likely to anger energy company campaignersSaudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco has paid out dividends of nearly $100bn (77bn), despite the company's annual profits tumbling from the record earnings raked in the year before.The group, in which the Saudi government owns a 82% stake, said in its annual accounts that dividends to shareholders increased by 30% to $97.8bn in 2023. Continue reading...
DWP missed many chances to act as woman's mental health declined while under overpayment investigationA coroner has criticised the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after a woman died from an overdose in the wake of a six-month official investigation that left her with soaring universal credit debts.Fiona Butler, the assistant coroner for Rutland and North Leicestershire, wrote a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) report to the DWP highlighting its failures to respond to the victim's mental health issues. Continue reading...
Jimmy Cherizier says he's leading Haiti's poor against corrupt government forces but experts point to a dark and violent pastMurals in the pauperized Haitian slums he rules liken him to the Argentinian guerrilla Ernesto Che" Guevara.In interviews, he poses as a God-fearing Caribbean Robin Hood and celebrates freedom fighters and agitators including Fidel Castro, Thomas Sankara and Malcolm X. Continue reading...
by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and media correspondent on (#6K7RD)
Intervention by conservationists halts sale of 1530s roundel from Grade-I listed manor, created to celebrate king's union with Anne BoleynThe fate of precious Tudor stained glass marking the union of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn is in dispute after its last-minute withdrawal from a private auction, the Observer has learned.Urgent intervention by conservationists prevented the sale of English glasswork of exceptional importance", including a window made in the 1530s as well as older medieval glass. The windows were hanging in a16th-century Dorset manor and were destined for a private contents auction until spotted listed alongside vintage furniture and china. Continue reading...
Picture of Catherine with her three children posted on social media with message thanking well-wishersThe first official photograph of the Princess of Wales after her abdominal surgery has been released to mark Mother's Day.A picture of Catherine sitting on a chair surrounded by her three children was posted to the Prince and Princess of Wales' social media accounts on Sunday morning, along with a message thanking well-wishers for their support. Continue reading...
Government was to look at whether offenders tend to commit increasingly serious crimes after outcry over warning signs with police officer Wayne CouzensThe government has failed to fund research into the escalation of sex crimes, despite promising to do so in the wake of the kidnapping, rape and murder of Sarah Everard.In 2021, the Home Office pledged to take forward work looking at the escalation of sexual offending" as part of its plan to tackle violence against women and girls. The plan, which had the tagline the safety of women and girls across the country is our priority", was informed by 180,000 public submissions after Everard was killed by serving police officer Wayne Couzens. Continue reading...
Home Office says it does not want to reveal details of deaths publicly in case it endangers relatives' mental health'The Home Office has revealed that it does not routinely inform family members when asylum seekers die in their care and does not want to supply details of these deaths publicly in case it upsets them and endangers their mental health".The disclosure comes at a time when there have been 176 deaths from all causes since 2020 and a doubling in the number of suicides over this period with at least 23 people taking their lives. Continue reading...
Council leaders warn of infrastructure crisis' that will also affect green energy schemes and hinder growthHousing projects are being delayed for years because of an infrastructure crisis" caused by lack of capacity in the National Grid, council leaders have warned.Building schemes for thousands of homes are on hold, while new projects face delays of up to four years in some parts of the UK because of a lengthening queue of developers waiting to be connected. Continue reading...
Extreme heat forecast to continue across Victoria, Tasmania, SA and NSW for several days, as record temperatures cause cancellation of long weekend events
Victories in councils won during Boris Johnson's vaccine boost' of 2021 face wipeout, leaving Rishi Sunak's regime in perilSenior Tories are braced for a catastrophic set of local elections that will see a collapse in council seats won at the peak of the vaccine bounce" enjoyed by Boris Johnson.Rishi Sunak's allies regard the results as the most dangerous moment remaining for the prime minister before the general election. While many of Sunak's Tory critics have little appetite for removing him, some said they were asking themselves: What is there to lose?" after apre-election budget that has failed to increase Conservative support. Continue reading...
Cross-party group of peers expected to ask for more details about why minister made and withdrew claims about two academicsThe cabinet minister Michelle Donelan is to face more questioning this week over her judgment after taxpayers funded a payout to an academic she had falsely accused of supporting Hamas.The science secretary will appear before a cross-party group of peers on Tuesday, when she is expected to be questioned on the process that led her to make the accusation, which she has since retracted. The decision to leave taxpayers with the 15,000 bill is also likely to be raised. The sum was paid without admitting any liability", the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)said. Continue reading...
As Russians prepare to give the president another six-year term this week, an ex-rival has gone from protest candidate to grotesque war hawkTwo election cycles ago, in 2012, Sergei Mironov was loudly playing the role of opposition to Russia's ruling party, wearing the white ribbon of the protest movement in the State Duma and claiming his run against Vladimir Putin was serious".If made president, he said, he would even appoint the now deceased opposition leader Alexei Navalny as the head of Russia's accounts chamber as an anti-corruption measure. Continue reading...
Open letter signed by families of victims including Manchester Arena bombing says debate must not play into terrorists' hands'More than 50 survivors of terrorist attacks, including the Manchester Arena bombing and the London Bridge attacks, have signed an open letter warning politicians to stop conflating British Muslims with extremism.The signatories include Rebecca Rigby, the widow of soldier Lee Rigby who was murdered in south-east London in 2013, and Paul Price, who lost his partner, Elaine McIver, in the Manchester Arena attack in 2017. They caution against comments which play into the hands of terrorists". Continue reading...
Key site is al-Aqsa mosque on what Jews call the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Peaceful access for Muslims could send a message of calmIsraelis and Palestinians are bracing themselves for a tense and potentially violent week, with no sign of a ceasefire likely in Gaza and calls from Hamas for protest marches around the Islamic world to mark the start of Ramadan on Monday.Earlier this month, a halt to hostilities before the Muslim holy month looked possible, but hopes have dimmed since indirect talks in Cairo ended without progress last week. Continue reading...
Taoiseach says government did not do enough to convince people over amending provisions on family and careIreland has overwhelmingly rejected proposed changes to references on family and women in its constitution, delivering a rebuke to a government that had urged voters not to take a step backwards".Voters repudiated the family referendum with 67% voting no", and buried the care referendum in an even bigger landslide of 74%. Continue reading...
Labour's lead over Tories increases to 16 points as chancellor's plans suffer reverse of a budget bounce, according to Observer Opinium surveyJeremy Hunt's budget appears to have backfired - with almost twice as many voters believing it will increase taxes overall, as those who think it will mean tax cuts.The latest Opinium poll for the Observer, conducted after the budget, also shows that the Tories have fallen two points in the past two weeks, suffering the reverse of a budget bounce". Continue reading...
Former PM apparently met autocratic leader Nicolas Maduro over concerns he may supply weapons to RussiaBoris Johnson flew to Venezuela in February for unofficial talks with its autocratic leader, Nicolas Maduro, according to reports.The former prime minister spoke to the Venezuelan president about the war in Ukraine, amid concerns that the socialist republic could supply weapons or military support to Russia, according to the Sunday Times. Continue reading...
The communities secretary wants trailblazer' government departments to pilot a scheme to ban individuals and groups deemed extremist from public lifeMichael Gove is set to announce a controversial plan this week to ban individuals and groups who undermine the UK's system of liberal democracy" from public life, despite fears inside government that the scheme is at risk of a legal challenge, leaked documents reveal.Officials working for Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, have drawn up plans for trailblazer" departments to pilot the scheme, according to documents that have been circulated to the Home Office and Downing Street and seen by the Observer. Continue reading...
HMS Richmond destroyed two targets with Sea Ceptor missiles, defence secretary Grant Shapps saidA Royal Navy frigate used its missiles to shoot down two attack drones as the US and its allies came under sustained Houthi attack in the Red Sea in the early hours of Saturday.The UK defence secretary, Grant Shapps, announced HMS Richmond's role in destroying the targets in a post on X. Continue reading...
Pilot and co-pilot unresponsive for nearly 30 minutes, prompting review of country's night flight operationTwo Indonesian pilots fell asleep for almost 30 minutes mid-flight, an investigation has revealed.A pilot and co-pilot were simultaneously asleep for about 28 minutes. The Batik Air flight was travelling from South East Sulawesi to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on 25 January, a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) said. Continue reading...
Marchers on Saturday came from wide range of backgrounds as rightwing press characterises city as no-go zone for Jews'As on previous Saturdays in the past six months, there were two marches taking place in London yesterday. The first, a gathering of tens of thousands of full-throated, flag-waving supporters of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza gathered at Hyde Park Corner at noon, and shuffled peaceably and patiently in the sunshine in the direction of the American embassy at Vauxhall, over the river.The second march was taking place mostly in the imaginations of right-wing commentators and politicians who increasingly choose to see these displays of solidarity with the Palestinian cause only as a provocation and a threat. Following the prime minister's Downing Street address on 1 March which represented these gatherings as representative of forces trying to tear apart" our democracy, the latest figure to loud-hailer that version of reality was the government-appointed commissioner for countering extremism, Robin Simcox, who argued on Friday the marches were a permissive environment for radicalisation", leading to a hysterical Daily Telegraph front-page headline that read: London is now a no-go zone for Jews". Continue reading...
Attackers force their way into school days after 300 children abducted in different Nigerian stateGunmen kidnapped at least 15 pupils from a school in Nigeria in a dawn raid on Saturday, days after about 300 children were abducted in another armed raid.The gunmen forced their way into the school premises in the Sokoto village of Gidan Bakuso, in the country's north-west, and started firing shots sporadically, waking and causing panic among the pupils, said the school's owner, Liman Abubakar Bakuso. Continue reading...
Gangs steal liquid gold' amid shortages and surging prices after extreme weather damages harvestsOlive oil has become the most stolen product in supermarkets across Spain, with organised criminal gangs targeting the liquid gold" to resell on the hidden market, according to new figures.Olive oil is now the most shoplifted product in regions that account for 70% of the country's population, the Financial Times reports. Continue reading...
Promised provision, particularly for autistic children, was announced a year ago but few schools will open on timePlans to deliver thousands of new special school places by 2026 are falling seriously behind, with experts branding the building programme a mess", the Observer can reveal.The news calls into question the only announcement on schools the chancellor made in last week's budget - a commitment of 105m towards 15 additional special schools. Continue reading...
The actor also implored voters in the US to choose Biden in the upcoming presidential electionHe's played mobsters, murderers, vigilantes and psychopaths. But the one person Robert De Niro said was too irredeemable to play? Donald Trump.The outspoken Hollywood actor spoke about why he would not want Trump to become president again during an appearance on the Real Time With Bill Maher chatshow, in which he urged voters to vote for Joe Biden. Continue reading...
Melissa's children are now adults, but since 2002 the family has been stuck in so-called temporary accommodation in London Read more: homeless children spending entire lives in temporary housing in EnglandWhen Melissa's parents moved abroad in 2002, she and her one-year-old child needed help to find a place to live. Her local London council placed her in temporary accommodation. They told me I'd be in it for six weeks," she said. I'm still in it today."Shocking as it may seem, the housing crisis and lack of affordable rents in some parts of the UK mean a growing number of people have spent huge chunks of their lives in temporary accommodation. For some children, it is all they have known. Continue reading...
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